Summary: Concrete slabs do crack, in fact most concrete will crack. If you leave this unrepaired it may lead to more serious problems and result in a more expensive repair down the line.
If your a homeowner you'll be all to aware that it come with certain unexpected responsibilities. One of these is looking after unexpected cracking of cement paved areas around your home. One thing I don’t like around my home is cracked concrete it's really unattractive and I want to maintain the look of my home as I’m sure you do.
So why does this happen and how come the builder never told you this might happen - on average, a concrete slab shrinks 1/16th inch for every ten linear feet and it's this internal stress that causes the concrete to pull itself apart causing it to crack. Other things that can cause this including root growth and weather conditions and one of the most common cause of cracked concrete is standing water. This basically works its way down between weakened sections and creates a crack so drainage is also something you need to be aware of.
If done properly believe it or not a concrete mason can try and prevent crack from appearing in places and make them appear where he wants. Have you every noticed just after concrete is poured a tooled line is placed in the concert this creates a grove which reduces the thickness at that location, this makes it much easier for the slab to crack in that area - this is also know as control joints as the mason is trying to control where the crack will appear.
Control joints have to be a minimum depth to work and be effective. It's recommended that this should be 1/4th the thickness of the concrete slab, so take a few minutes and check around your home if I’m correct and you have cracks the chances are you will measure nothing like this. If required this can be fixed with a concrete saw by simply putting it in the groves to increase the depth to what you need, also bear in mind that the 1/4th is a minimum it can be more.
If you have small cracks in the 3mm range or less:
1. Clean away any chips or loose concrete this can be done with a sharp tool like a flat-head screw driver.
2. Use a wire brush to help remove dirt.
3. Clean the crack with a hose or spray bottle.
4. In your local hardware store you'll be able to pick up concrete patching compound - you'll only need a small amount and try adding some latex additive which is good in hot and cold weather.
5. Place the compound into the crack using a pointing trowel.
6. Depending on drying condition the compound can dry quickly so make sure the surface is smooth before you finish up.
This is a quick guide for small crack repairs, be sure to discuss bigger issue with your builder or seek advise from an independed party should you have bigger cracks.
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